Blood Magic
by Alice Bekett
Summary: Alternate takes of DA:O. Jace slumped to the ground beside the fire. Alistair strode over,clearly angry."What were you thinking?"He demanded."Blood magic?"Jace looked at the templar."I did what I had to." He said softly,his hoarse voice rasping worse...
1. Chapter 1

The Desire demon stood in waiting. Jace was exhausted, after slaying three other desire demons, and at least two lesser rage demons, the Fade had sent him here.

He strode over to the demon. "Hello." The demon began. "Is all this fighting truly necessary?"

"I'm willing to talk." Jace murmured, his throat dry.

"Good." The demon said softly. "You're here to free the boy, aren't you? Well, I'll leave for a while, as if you slayed me, and then in years to come I'll claim what's mine."

Jace crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll need more persuasion for that."

"What can I do for you, then?" The demon asked.

Jace swallowed. "Teach me a specialized form of blood magic."

The demon looked at him curiously. Jace sighed. "I want to be able to use my blood magic on darkspawn, because of the taint."

The demon smiled. "Granted."

Everything went white.

LINE BREAK

Jace gasped, and his knees buckled, and he landed heavily on his hands and knees. He looked at Jowan, who was covered from head to toe in blood. Isolde's body lay only feet from him.

Jace heard a sword be sheathed. "It _is_ you, right?" Alistair asked.

Jace struggled to his feet, Jowan offered his hand, and Jace took it. "Thank you." Jowan murmured.

"No problem, but you didn't tell me that the ride was bumpy."

Jowan chuckled slightly. "First time, remember?"

Alistair looked enraged. "What's going on? What happened in there? Why are you talking to _him_?"

Jace glared at the other Grey Warden. "We're talking. It helps eases tension. Um, I got rid of the demon, and we were friends, it's habit."

Jowan snorted. Bann Teagan shot him a warning glance. "How did you destroy it?"

"Killed it." Jace replied smoothly. Jowan looked at him oddly, but said nothing.

Leliana watched quietly from her place beside Alistair. She could tell the almost-templar was shaking with suppressed anger. Bann Teagan took no notice however. "Come, I'll show you the Aryl."

The group, except for Jowan followed the Bann. Eamon lay on his back, unconscious. "How is he?" Jace asked softly.

"He hasn't worsened, but he has not awoken." Bann Teagan replied. "I fear that if we do not find the Ashes, that all will be lost."

"I'll find them." Jace said suddenly. "I'll find the Ashes."

Bann Teagan looked at Jace strangely. "Before you leave, if you would like to stay here for the night"-

Jace shook his head. "It's not a good idea. I would love to stay, but if we do, we may stay for days." Jace sighed, rubbing the lines of the light blue tattoo on his face. "Eamon may not have time."

Bann Teagan nodded. "I understand."

Jace looked at Conner, who was playing quietly in the corner of the room. "How is he?"

"The servants say he doesn't remember anything. Thank the Maker." Bann Teagan replied.

Jace nodded. "We should get going."

"What should I do with Jowan?" Bann Teagan asked.

"He seems to regret what he's done." Jace said simply. "I will come when we get the Ashes."

"Good luck," Bann Teagan said.

LINE BREAK

Jace slumped to the ground near the fire. Alistair strode over, clearly angry. "What were you thinking?" He demanded. "Blood magic?"

Jace looked at the templar. "I did what I had to." He said softly, his hoarse voice rasping worse than normal.

"Well, we could have done something else!" Alistair said angrily. "Isolde was a good woman, and we had other options. We could have went to the Circle"-

Jace stood up alarmingly fast. He looked Alistair in the eyes. "We may not have had the time to do so without Conner killing everything!" He snapped. "If you think you can lead _our_ _army_ better than I can, go ahead!"

Alistair looked stunned; Jace _never_ raised his voice. "I never"-

"Well then, if you have a damn problem, speak before it's done!" Jace yelled. "You know what, you may be a better leader than I, but we'll never know!" Jace glared at Alistair.

Alistair blinked, realizing the meaning. Flushing with anger, he jabbed a finger at the redheaded elf. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have"-

"Comic relief?" Jace demanded.

Alistair turned even redder. "Maybe if you actually asked our opinions, we could prevent this sort of thing from happening"-

Something within Jace snapped. " Fine then, don't leave all the decisions to me, then! 'We need to build an army!' 'We have to go to Eamon!'" He exclaimed. He glared at the blond in front of him. "I'm sick! I'm sick of there always being another step, another decision made alone, sick of no one seeing what _I_ as an individual wants to do!"

Alistair was about to say something when Jace punched him "Shut it!" He demanded. "If you think that you can do better than me, do it!"

Alistair looked astonished at the elven mages' outburst. He absentmindedly rubbed his jaw. Jace turned and stomped off angrily toward a stunned Leliana.

LINE BREAK

Jace lay beside the fire, shivering with cold. Sev, his Mabari lay against his back, and the fire blazed in front of him. Leliana had not had anything to say to him, to help ease his consciousness of damnning the child. No one could know how he got the blood magic. Not even Leliana. And if he could help it, he wouldn't use the magic, keep it secret and only use it if there's an emergency.

He sighed, and Sev whined a little. "What?" Jace asked hoarsely. The shouting match with Alistair had not improved his voice at all. In fact, he found he could barely talk at all.

The Mabari simply snuggled into Jace more. Jace patted the dog weakly. "Good boy." He murmured drowsily. Unable to keep himself from falling asleep, Jace allowed the darkness to swallow him, and take his worries away, even if only for a little while.

LINE BREAK

_Mouse stood in front of him. "If you're willing, I could get a foothold, return!"_

_Jace took a step back. "Um, sorry, I can't do that."_

"_Why not, you have so much power." Mouse insisted. Jace swallowed. _

"_I have a feeling that that Rage demon wasn't my test."-_

Jace awoke with a start. He glanced around, eyes wide. He lay back against Sev. The Mabari looked at him questioningly. Jace sighed. "My Harrowing." He said simply. Sev laid back down.

Jace wrapped is blankets back around his shoulders, and curled into a ball. He coughed hoarsely, clearing his throat and closed his eyes again.

_Helen, an apprentice screamed as her brother James scorched her hair. "James!" Enchanter Thomas scowled._

_Jace smiled to himself, putting a stack of books away. He bumped into someone. "Sorry." He murmured. _

"_Not a problem." An Enchanter said pleasantly. "Have we met? I'm Jonathon."_

"_I'm Jace." Jace replied. _

"_What are you doing?" Jonathon asked._

"_Oh, putting some books away. Enchanter Sweeny can't see very well and he keeps tripping over stacks of books." _

_Jonathon nodded. "Here, let me help." The taller man began putting books whose shelf was too high for Jace to reach away._

"_Thank you." Jace said, continuing with his task. "What do you do?" He asked suddenly._

"_Hmm, what do you mean?"_

"_Your specialty." _

_Jonathon nodded. "Ah, I am an expert on healing, and cleaning spells. What are you strong in?"_

"_Lots of things, apparently. But mostly spirit magic, fire and ice magic and defensive magic."_

_Jonathon nodded. "Ah. I am also proficient in fire and ice- if you're interested, of course." _

_Jace nodded, thinking. "I think it'll be worthwhile"_

"Jace!" _A voice called suddenly. Jace looked around, no one seemed to be looking for him, what?-_

"Jace!" The voice said sternly.

Jace bolted awake. "What?"- He began. He looked around, confused. Hadn't he been speaking to Jonathon?

"Jace!" Alistair repeated sternly. "What's going on? Were you having a nightmare?"-

"No!" Jace snapped irritably. "I _remember_ in sleep."

"What were you remembering?"

"The day I met Jonathon. He taught me much" Jace replied shortly. "What time is it?"

"Almost time to go." Morrigan said smoothly behind him. Jace nodded. "Move, Sev." The Mabari yawned, stretched and trotted off.

Jace stretched and packed his bedroll into his backpack. He was soon ready and was munching on some bread, sitting next to Leliana.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, her accent waking Jace up.

"Better." He replied. "I missed you last night."

She smiled. "You missed being warm."

Jace smiled too. He shrugged. "That too."

Soon, they were on their way. "Where are we going?" Alistair asked suddenly.

Jace shrugged. "To get the Ashes, I suppose." Alistair nodded. "Might as well." He paused. "Where do we start?" 

"Denerim, of course." Jace said smartly. "We're looking up Brother Genitivi."


	2. Chapter 2

Jace swallowed nervously. He could sense the man standing in front of him was very powerful. "We're looking for Brother Genitivi." He said, speaking with a stuttering and awed tone. Leliana shot him a weird look, but stayed quiet.

"I'm Weylon." The man said. "Sadly, I have not heard from Genitivi in some weeks" He looked closer at Jace, seeing that the young man looked harmless, he continued on. "What did you wish to see him for?"

Leliana smiled, and batted her eyelashes. " We're looking for the Urn of Sacred Ashes." She said. "We heard that Brother Genitivi knows where they are."

"He went off in search for them, but"- He broke off. "It's so unlike him!"

"Maybe, if you tell us where he went, we can find him." Jace said softly, his hoarse voice still letting on that he was innocent.

Weylon shook his head. "Too many have died already."

Jace sighed. "Okay." He looked around suddenly. "Can I look around? I still can't believe I'm in the home of a Brother!"

Weylon nodded, looking suspicious. "Al-alright."

Jace beamed. "Thank you, Ser."

Jace began looking around; he slipped several books into his bag when Weylon wasn't looking. He came upon a closed door. He reached out to push it open, and Weylon suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing?" He demanded. "Brother Genitivi was a private man!"

"I just wanted to look!" Jace replied, eyes wide.

Leliana, who was behind Weylon, was surprised at how well the Elven mage could lie and act.

"Many of his very, very…" Weylon trailed off, trying to find a word. "_Private_ materials are in there."

"What are you hiding?" Leliana asked.

"NO!" Weylon yelled. He pushed Jace into the table, when a resulting _crack_ was heard; two more people entered the home.

Zevran ran to Jace, while Morrigan started casting spell at their target. Leliana was torn between helping her lover and killing the person who did it. Shouting her battle cry, she decided that Zevran could handle the fallen Warden.

Jace stood, legs almost unable to support him. He cast winter's grasp on Weylon. Leliana took the advantage and stabbed Weylon.

"Wow." Jace remarked, his voice shaky. "I felt power coming off him in waves."

Morrigan nodded. "We was powerful, but we surprised him."

"Clearly." Zevran said. "What happened?"

"Well, I tried to go in there," Jace pointed to the door. "Then he threw me into the table." He paused and rubbed his arm where he'd landed. "It hurt."

Leliana smiled. "I suppose we should see what he was hiding." Jace nodded in agreement.

Leliana cracked the door open, and stepped inside. "Clear!" She called.

Jace walked in, sword in hand. He glanced around the room, and his eyes settled on an alcove. He cautiously stepped over to it, he smelled something rotting, but he wasn't sure what.

It was a body crumpled on the floor at the end of the bed. It looked to be the real Weylon. Jace's stomach churned at the sight. There was a book on the bedside table, and Jace grabbed it. He opened it to find research on Dragon Cults; Jace couldn't help but swallow nervously. He placed in his pack and continued his search. He didn't find much but Leliana found another book and some notes and Genitivi's diary.

Alistair was flipping through the man's research, and Jace was looking at the book on dragon cults while Leliana was reading the unmarked book. There was a large table and Morrigan was extremely bored.

"The village of Haven, it's a remote part of the Frostback Mountains." Alistair spoke suddenly.

Jace looked at him. "How do you know?"

"Well, it's right here." Alistair pointed to a paragraph, which Jace scanned quickly, taking the book. After a moment, he nodded.

"Haven it is then." He shut the book with a sharp _snap_.

LINE BREAK

Sev bounced around his master. He barked happily at the trees, birds and anything else that moved.

Jace seemed, edgy. Leliana observed. Ever since Redcliffe, after killing the demon within Connor, he'd jumped and flinched as if expecting something terrible was going to be said to him. Leliana also remembered the odd look Jowan had given the mage when Jace had said that he'd killed the demon.

Leliana soon stopped dead in her tracks, frozen to the spot. Things were clicking together. Jace normally told her everything that happened if she wasn't there with him, and she remembered the hesitations and the occasional stutter when he told her how he had killed the demon.

"You alright?" Alistair asked softly, jolting Leliana out of her thoughts.

"Yes, I was just thinking." Leliana began to walk again.

"About what?" Alistair asked.

Leliana shot a concerned look over at Jace, ahead of everyone else. "He's been acting oddly since Redcliffe, have you noticed this?"

Alistair nodded slowly, clearly mulling over. "Actually, yes."

Leliana nodded. "I will go talk to him." She quickened her pace, and was soon walking beside their leader. She was about to confront him, when a group of darkspawn suddenly jumped out of the bushes. Jace pulled his twin daggers from their sheaths and brandished them threateningly.

Leliana pulled out her bow, and backing up, began to fire them rapidly at the darkspawn. Alistair roared his battle cry and charged into the fray and Sev howled and attacked a darkspawn without fear.

Jace saw the ogre before Leliana even realized it was there. "DUCK LEL!" Jace shouted; pausing only for a moment to make sure she was out of the way, Jace plunged his dagger into his hand.

LINE BREAK

AN: I feel bad about the cliffhanger, yet at the same time I don't feel bad at all. I hope you liked this chapter and please review.


	3. Chapter 3

Leliana watched the person she loved. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears, her face burning in shame that he would resort to something so wicked. Tears stung her eyes, but she watched.

Jace whipped the dagger from him, as if disgusted. A cloud of deep red obscured him, but _he_ could see fine. He threw his other dagger at the ogre, seeing it hit home; Jace let his blood seep into the ogres' wound. He set fire to the ogres' blood. The ogre bellowed, trying to save itself.

Soon it was dead, like the other darkspawn. Jace swayed and collapsed. Alistair was speechless, and soon his face was burning with anger. Morrigan and Sten suddenly ran up, leaving Bodahn and Sandal down the road.

"What happened?" Morrigan demanded, surveying the scene. Jace suddenly stirred. He sat up, looking around.

"What?"- He began to ask. Then it clicked, and he went deathly pale. "Maker." He stood, and nearly losing his balance, looked at Leliana, his eyes wide.

Her face was bright red, from shame or anger, Jace wasn't sure. He looked down, and saw that he could see clear through his hand. His face tinged green. Morrigan was there suddenly; using healing magic, his hand was soon healed.

Alistair was there too. His face was carefully controlled, but his eyes were shockingly filled with hate, and remorse. Jace snapped back to reality when he heard a sword leaving its sheath. Jace instinctively stepped back, flinching. Sten stood with his sword, level with Alistair's neck and Alistair's sword was pointing directly at Jace's chest.

Jace was utterly speechless. He swallowed dryly. He nodded at Sten, and wordlessly continued down the path they'd been on. Sev walked beside his master, and sensing the somber mood, barked no longer.

LINE BREAK

They had set up camp in utter silence, and Jace sat in front of the fire, head nestled in his hands. He was thinking of Jowan, and how awful they had been to him. He knew Grey Wardens permitted the use of blood magic, but it appeared that no one was taking that into consideration. A small, choked sob escaped before he could stop it. Around the large, painful lump in his throat, he choked out another sob. Soon, he was crying, harder than when the Templars had dragged him into the tower, kicking and screaming. The only difference this time was that he was much quieter then when he was seven.

He curled his knees to his chest and rested his head on his knees. Soon he simply lay down and fell asleep.

_Jowan burst into the apprentice dormitory. "Jace!" He called. "It's Jonathon! He's collapsed!"_

_Jace sprung to his feet and fled to the library. He stumbled and fell, tripping on his robes more than once. There was a small crowd of mages, standing in a circle. He ran through them, stopping at the sight of Jonathon. He knelt beside his tutor, grasping an overly warm hand. "Jonathon?" He asked. He gently maneuvered the man's head onto his lap._

_The older wizard met Jace's blue eyes with his own pale green. "You are like a son to me." Jonathon rasped. "I want you to have my belongings after I'm gone."_

"_Don't talk like that, you'll be fine." Jace soothed, he looked around, seeing no one about to help, he murmured a healing spell. Jonathon's grasp on his hand tightened._

"_No, don't waste your energy on me." Jonathon said softly. "I can not be healed."_

_Jace barely noticed the tears streaming down his face. "Please don't leave me." He begged._

_Jonathon managed a smile. He grasped the chain around his neck, weakly lifted his head from Jace's lap and took the chain off. His hand shaking, he pressed in Jace's free hand. "Those rings will help you greatly." Jonathon murmured, lowering his head and hand, referring to the rings strung across the chain. _

_Jace remembered Jonathon telling him of the story behind each ring, and why they were special to Jonathon. He clutched the rings and chain, the cold metal digging hard into his flesh. "I-I." Jace tried to say something, but found he couldn't around the lump in his throat._

_Jonathon's smile remained, even after he'd taken his last breath and died._

_Jace sat in the library for hours, before a Templar strode in, and grabbing Jace by the hair, he dragged the mage into an empty classroom. Jace had long since moved the necklace that Jonathon had given him into a pocket._

_The Templar roughly shoved him into a chair. "I know what you did!" He accused._

"_What?" Jace asked._

"_You killed that old enchanter didn't you, made it seem like he was sick and then you tended to him!" The Templar exclaimed._

_Jace's mouth went dry, and he was furious. "What? Why would I do such a thing?" He demanded._

"_To gain power!" The Templar declared._

_Jace felt as if he was going to be sick. He could think of no response. The Templar suddenly lunged forward, and grabbing Jace by his hair, told him to unbutton his robes, and then take off the Templars' armor._

_Jowan found him later, and suddenly, Jace found himself pressed under a heavy weight._

Jace woke screaming. "Get the hell off of me you filthy Templar!" He roared. Scrambling back when the weight was lifted, he was in full panic mode.

"Kadan." Sten's deep baritone interrupted Jace's panicked mind, and put it to ease. "Is there something wrong?"

Jace shook his head. "I apologize, Sten for yelling at you." He said softly, collecting his composure.

After a hesitant pause Sten replied. " Thank you."

Jace nodded, and stood up, looking around. Leliana watched him for a second more, before realizing Jace was trying to make eye contact. Jace sighed inwardly and tried to forget the nightmare, but it refused to go, he shuddered at the memory, after _it_ had happened; Jace had had those nightmares for months, until it had gotten so cold that many apprentices had bunked together. Jowan and Jace had slept in the same, cramped, narrow bed and Jace hadn't had the nightmare. Ever since then, if something warm and living slept beside him, he was fine.

Jace ran a hand through his hair; it was getting long again. Ever since that day, he'd cut his hair very short; Alistair almost had longer hair than Jace did. Jace realized with a jolt that it was his turn to cook breakfast. He set about the meaningless task, and soon he had start of a broth bubbling over the fire.

He added ingredients at random, a bad habit he had when he was upset. His body went on autopilot while his brain tried to register what happened. He shook himself from his daze halfheartedly. There was very little chatter around the camp, and Jace swore he could cut the tension with a dagger.

"Maker!" He cursed himself under his breath. He'd left his daggers on the battlefield. What kind Grey Warden was he? First screwing his friendships over by using blood magic, and now finding himself virtually weaponless. He shook his head, cursing himself inwardly.

He sighed, and nearly jumped out of his robes when a hand was placed on his shoulder. He spun around to find Morrigan standing there, looking smug. " 'Tis best if we do not linger here."

Jace nodded. "Good thinking, I'll go scout ahead." He slipped away, taking Sev with him.

LINE BREAK

Leliana couldn't help but think about the scene she had just witnessed. Jace, except at Alistair that one time, never raised his voice. Jace was calm, cool and collected so much of the time that seeing flashes of something pointing to something entirely different was unsettling.

She wondered what had happened. It had clearly involved a Templar, that much was certain, but he'd never mentioned anything like this before. Sten took it in his normal stoicism and walked away, not asking any questions. She shook her head, and watched as Jace and Sev left to 'scout ahead'.

Instinct told her to follow, to go with him. She wasn't even sure if s he could face him. She shook her head, trying to clear it, no she wouldn't go with him.

She sighed. She would talk to him later, but she had to cool down and wrap her mind around the idea that he was a blood mage.

LINE BREAK

Jace walked briskly, focusing on all his hyperactive senses. No darkspawn, only animals, Sev and himself. He ran a hand through his dark red hair. This was certainly boring, but at least he had time to clear his mind.

He stared at the hand that he had stabbed. There was an ugly scar, but that was the only trace that he had used blood magic just the day before. Jace reflected on the power, the pure, raw power he felt when he'd wielded the blood magic. It had felt odd, like he could do anything he wanted, _control_ who he wanted.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. _I need to stay focused._ Jace thought.

Still, he felt nothing, heard nothing and saw nothing, which, admittedly was a nice change. A twig snapped, and Sev growled at a bush. "Sev, what?"-

A young blond-haired woman burst through the bushes. "Oh, please! We got ambushed by bandits! They took almost everything!"

"Hold on, I have companions down the road, we can help"- Jace started, half turning.

The young woman grabbed his hand. "Please, we don't have time!" She caught sight of his robes. "You- you're a mage! Please my sister was hurt!"

Jace sighed. "Okay. Sev, go get them, tell everyone to follow."

Sev barked and tore back down the path which they came. "Come" The young woman pleaded, dragging Jace with her. Jace yanked his arm free, and followed.

He came upon the scene, and something wasn't right. Instead of a family, they were a group of warriors. The hairs on the back of Jace's neck stood on end. A ghostly pale hand touched his shoulder. "I have come to claim what is mine."

Jace knew that voice, it was the voice of the demon in the Fade, the very demon that gave him his blood magic.

END

AN: I do NOT own Dragon Age, and I am not making any money off of this. I only hope I can entertain people.


	4. Chapter 4

Sev tore down the dirt road, barking like mad. Leliana looked past the Mabari, and didn't see Jace. Sev barked and grabbed her wrist and started pulling her gently forward. "Do you want me to follow?" Leliana asked. Sev barked again and ran ahead.

Leliana and Sten glanced at each other and everyone started running after the dog. They broke through some bushes and into a clearing.

There were bodies of slain warriors, and Jace at the centre, holding a clearly scavenged great sword . His eyes were blazing with anger. "COME OUT YOU BITCH!" He shouted, rotating in slow circles. Leliana was stunned. Jace had killed all those warriors on his own?

Sev barked and bounded forward, growling. Jace seemed to finally notice the rest of the party members. He dropped the great sword, and fell to his knees. A woman stepped out of the bushes near where Jace was. Sev ran in front of the elven mage, barking.

The woman smiled. "I see help has arrived. Do they know what you have gambled?"

Jace reached forward, grabbing the great sword. The woman smirked. "I see they don't, but even here in this strange world I can clearly see what you desire most." She looked at Leliana. "Oh, so this is she, in the flesh? I see why you desire her so much"

"YOU GET AWAY FROM HER!" Jace lunged forward, sword in hand. He pinned the woman to the ground, and more warriors came out from the bushes. Everyone entered into battle.

Leliana cut her way through the warriors had tried to stop her from reaching Jace and the woman. The woman must have escaped from the angry Warden's grip and had pulled out a dagger from her sleeve and was trying to defend herself.

Leliana watched in horror as a swipe to Jace's face hit home. She crept around the edge of the battlefield, changing tactics. She would embed both of her daggers into the woman if it killed her.

Jace's vision was blurry, and his sense of smell was overwhelmed with blood. He could feel the magic tingle of the deal he had made with the demon linking him to her. His hands felt as if they were on fire, and his head was pounding. He suddenly felt very angry, and tried to find the exact location of the demon he was trying kill. He felt a dagger rip through his robes and he dropped the great sword and stepped on something that stabbed through his foot. He shouted in anguish and used the blood and the link to set fire to the woman's blood. He felt his power explode and fell into unconsciousness.

Leliana watched Jace in horror, as he stepped onto a dagger and he stumbled. He used the blood and all enemies fell to the ground, screaming. Leliana looked at the woman who had been talking earlier, dead.

Alistair quickly killed all of the warriors that were alive. Jace collapsed in a heap at the centre of the destruction, unconscious.

"Maker", Leliana said. "I didn't know that he could do that..."

Alistair looked stunned as well. "None of us did."

Morrigan knelt beside the stricken Warden. "He's alive and breathing. He has clearly become more powerful than he was at the start of the Blight."

Alistair ran a hand through his hair. "Maker, I- He", He stuttered. "Who knew this would happen?"

"No one.", replied Leliana. "Only the Maker can know what He is planning."

Alistair murmured something under his breath and turned away. "I'm getting Bodahn."

Morrigan turned the young Warden on his back, and Leliana gasped. A jagged gash crossed his cheek marred the once smooth surface of his skin. Morrigan cast a healing spell, and the garish wound started to close, but it didn't heal properly. The scar now where the cut was extraordinarily worse looking than the original cut had.

"The dagger was enchanted." Morrigan said softly. "There's nothing we can do to that now, I'm going to heal his foot. Hold him steady."

Leliana knelt beside Jace and held his shoulders in place. Morrigan almost sighed in relief when she realized she wouldn't have to pull the dagger from his foot. Morrigan's hands glowed as she puled off Jace's boot ans started to heal the wound on his foot. The elven mage twitched under Leliana's grasp, but she held him steady. Soon, Morrigan was done, and the women stood up again. "That is all i can do for him. Wynne will probably be ale to do more for him."

Leliana nodded, and looked around. "I suppose we should start checking the bodies, we might find something useful."

"'Tis better if one of us stays here with him." Morrigan said, shaking her head.

Leliana nodded. "He can't be _that_ hurt, can he?"

Morrigan raised an eyebrow at the bard. Leliana then remembered all the stupid things that has befallen the Warden. She sighed and nodded. "I suppose you're right."

Morrigan nodded. "Shall I stay with him, or will you?"

"I will." Leliana sat down beside the fallen mage.

The first thing Jace was aware of was burning, itching sensation on his cheek, where the demon had cut him with her dagger. He then felt the telltale signs of healing on his foot. His foot was itching, and still faintly stung.

He opened his eyes, and squinted in the bright sunlight. As his eye adjusted, he felt something warm sitting beside him. Jace struggled to sit upright, and a hand helped him up. "Maker, what?"- Jace broke off as his memory came rushing back. Panic suddenly overtook his senses, and he stumbled to his feet, and almost passed out again when a sudden sense of vertigo overwhelmed his senses. A large hand steadied him. "Kadan, you've been injured."

"I've noticed." Jace snapped. He shrugged Sten's hand off him and ran a hand through his hair. He stopped when he felt his cheek. He traced the scar with his fingertips. "What?"- He started to ask.

"The dagger was enchanted, Morrigan didn't bother checking it until after she had healed you." Wynne said softly from behind Jace.

"What else, my memory is a little hazy."

"Everything else was healed properly." Wynne responded. "I'm sorry."

"Wasn't your fault, Wynne." Jace sighed, and looked around the clearing. The dead bodies were gone, but the blood remained. Jace swallowed dryly, staring at the damage he had done. "How far away are we from Haven?" He asked Sten.

"About half a days travel, Kadan." Sten replied stoically.

Jace nodded. "We will travel for a few more hours and continue on in the morning."

Sten nodded. "I'll let everyone know."

"Thank you, Sten." Jace murmured. The giant nodded stiffly and walked away. Sev ran up, barking.

Jace winced after trying to smile at his dog. He ran his fingertips against the awful scar. Sev stopped barking and tilted his head o the side. "You're a good boy." Sev barked happily before bounding away.

A delicate cough startled him and made his spin around, making Jace dizzy again. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the dizziness to pass.

"Jace, I want to know who that woman was." Leliana asked after several moments.

Jace sighed. "She was an abomination. She was possessed by the desire demon that I made the deal to get my blood magic from."

Leliana nodded. "We should get going." She said, but didn't move.

Jace too the hint and started to make his way through the brush and onto the trail. To his surprise, Leliana followed. "I'm sorry." Jace said suddenly. "I was so tired, I wasn't thinking straight, and I panicked, I was sure I was going to die."

Leliana though this information over. "What was the deal you made?"

"Doesn't matter now, she's dead."

They walked side by side, but instead of an awkward silence, a companionable one hovered over the pair.

AN:

I own nothing! I'm writing just for fun! I hope my readers will leave reviews! They might make me write faster!


	5. Chapter 5

They reached the city of Haven by nightfall. The guard made Jace _know_ that something was odd about the town. Jace knocked on a door, and it swung open. He glanced at Leliana who shrugged. Jace was overwhelmed by the smell of blood, and found an alter drenched in it. "Maker." Alistair murmured.

"This cannot be good," Zevran said.

Jace glared. "Great, that's right up there with 'what can possibly go wrong?'"

Zevran grinned crookedly. "I apologize, Warden."

Jace shook his head. "C'mon, we gotta find out more." They left the house w

and they were barraged with attacks from outside. "Andraste's stockings!"

he ducked behind a corner of the building, to cast some spells from a safe distance and turned when he was face to face with a giant spider. He shouted, and ran back to the group. "SPIDER!"

He focused entirely on the spider and killed it after a few minutes. Then focused on a cultist that was trying to attack Leliana. Soon they had killed everyone and Jace sank against the wall of the house. Zevran was holding back a smirk. "Aren't you supposed to be our fearless leader?"

"I'm a Grey Warden, I signed up for darkspawn, assassins, an occaisonally insane mage and an angry Teyrn- not spiders." Jace swallowed, and glared at the former assassin.

Leliana didn't say anything, just watched. Jace straightened and brushed off his robes. He looked at the well worn path up a steep hill. "I think we're going that way."

Leliana couldn't believe that she got to see the Ashes. Jace and Alistair looked as awed as she felt. Jace untied the flask of dragon blood that Kolgrim had given him. "You can't"- Leliana started before he threw the flask against the steps, causing it to break.

Jace shook his head. "No, I will not give in to him to acquire something that i have no need for."

Leliana nodded, relieved. Jace handed her the pouch that they were going to use for the ashes. "Here, you do the honours."

Leliana felt touched, both for his consideration and he fact that he knew what she wanted. She smiled and took a small pinch of the ashes. She reverently handed the pouch back to him and he carefully put it in his boot. She looked at him oddly.

"Nothing ever happens to my feet." He explained. "If I die, who'll look through my boots?"

Zevran raised his hand. "I would."

Jace sighed, and shook his head and made his way back down to the door so they could leave.

The Arl was awake, and talking coherently, wanting to know about his family. Bann Tegan explained what happened while Jace watched Connor playing quietly in the corner of the room.

"The mage must be punished!" Arl Eamon declared, sitting up. "Warden, you apparently know this mage, what should I do?"

Jace's heart dropped. "Wh-what?" He stammered, completely surprised.

"What do you think I should do with this mage?"

"Show him some mercy, he didn't know what he was doing"-

"Not an option, he destroyed my family."

"If you're going to kill him, wait until I'm out of town, I refuse to watch as my only friend in the Circle is killed." Jace said bitterly before storming out of the room.

Bann Teagan was stunned, the young man had always seemed calm and collected. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. _This isn't as simple as I thought._

Jace stormed down the path to Redcliffe Village. Everyone was scrambling down the hill after him, surprised a his sudden retreat. Alistair soon fell into step beside the smaller man. "What happened?"

Jace glared at the former templar. "They're going to kill him." He replied tensely.

Alistair looked confused for a moment, before catching on. "Who, the mage that poisoned Eamon, they have ever right to kill him!"-

Jace's face clouded with anger, and looked ready to fry the other Grey Warden in his boots before he heard someone shouting his name from behind.

"Jace!" Jace turned to find Jowan, holding the skirts of his robes up to ankle height so he wouldn't trip, running full speed down the hill. He stumbled just as he reached Jace, and the elf barely caught him. Jowan stood up to his full height. He clearly hadn't been fed very well, seeing as he'd lost some weight since Jace has seen him last.

"What happened?" Jace demanded.

"I'm not sure, Teagan came and let me out, showing me a passage, then I found you." Jowan panted, trying to catch his breath. Jace realized what Teagan had done, and grabbed the other mages' hand before pulling him toward the exit.

"We have a camp just outside the village, you can't be seen, at all by anyone."

Jowan nodded and started to follow more willingly. We made it too camp relatively quickly, and everyone was stunned to see Jowan. Wynne looked outraged, and strode over. "What is he doing here?" She demanded.

Jace almost fell over from shock, he had only seen Wynne disappointed and a little angry before, but never anything close to what she was displaying. Jace licked his suddenly dry lips, speechless. Jowan looked just as shocked as Jace felt, not remembering the last time his friend was struck speechless.

"Um, er..." Jace trailed off. "Bann Teagan gave him too us?"

Wynne's eyes flashed. "Eamon doesn't know, does he?"

Jace ran a hand through his hair. "Uh, maybe?"

Wynne started toward the castle, looking very determined. Jace grabbed her wrist. "Please, let this go, are you going to turn _me_ in?"

Wynne stopped dead in her tracks, and half turned. "You're different."

"How?" Jace demanded. "We have both shown regret for our actions. The only difference with him is that he fell in love sooner than I did- if I had found Lily first, perhaps our roles would be reversed."

Wynne was speechless, she yanked her arm away from the mage and stalked to the other side of the campsite. Leliana stepped out of her tent, a slight smile on her face before it froze and slid off her face when she spotted Jowan. "What is he doing here?"

"He's going to fight with us." Jace replied softly, looking more drained than Jowan ever remembered seeing him look. Jace's shoulders slumped and he sat dejectedly next to the fire.

That's when Jowan noticed the large scar on Jace's cheek. He was terribly shocked, and sat beside his fellow mage. "What happened?" He asked quietly, as Leliana watched quietly from across the fire.

Jace brushed his fingers across the flawed skin, and sighed and placed his head in his hands. "I messed up, Jowan. After I made the deal with the demon that possessed Connor she possessed some apostate and tracked me down. She ambushed me, and had an enchanted dagger."

Jowan nodded. He had suspected that the demon hadn't been destroyed. He had felt the change in the Fade, but hadn't said anything.

"So, you're free." Jowan murmured after a few minutes of mulling over what he should say.

Jace looked up, his dark blue eyes filled with regret. "No I'm not, I'm tainted from the darkspawn, I'll die young." He paused, "That is, I'll die younger than you, if the archdemon doesn't get me first."

Jowan watched his friend and saw very little of the naive, young man he remembered. "Jonathon would be proud, you know."

Jace nodded. "I thought so, Irving said the same thing."

Leliana sat down on the other side of the fire. "how do you two know each other?" She asked.

"Jowan came to the circle a few years before I did." Jace replied. "I was scared, alone and the templars didn't want to help a mage. Jowan found me, an older apprentice locked me in a cabinet in the library."

Jowan smirked. "Ever since then we've nearly been inseparable."

"Why didn't you tell Jace that you were a blood mage?" Leliana asked.

Jowan went bright red. "Well, it seems stupid not to have now, but in all honesty I was worried he'd go and tell Irving."

Jace shuddered. "Did I ever tell you how I got that damn fire rod?"

"No." Leliana and Jace both said.

"I asked around, and I cleared the cellar out of it's infestation of giant spiders for that one enchanter. I got some money instead. Then I talked too good old enchanter Sweeney and got the form signed no problem." Jace smirked at the memory.

"You're terrified of spiders!" Jowan said. "I remember the teacher said we could keep one as a pet and you couldn't sleep for a week with it 'staring at you'"

Jace glared. "Hey, at least I didn't get drunk and try too"- His retort was cut short when Jowan shoved him over. "Hey!"

Jowan was glaring daggers at the other mage. "You swore you'd never tell!"

Jace laughed as he righted himself. "I haven't! Maker's blood, I swear!"

Jowan glared, but didn't say anything else. Leliana was surprised at the pairs bickering and obvious comradeship. She had known Jace to be humorous, sarcastic, angry and even depressed but normally he was very serious. She decided that she needed to get to know Jowan better, before the final battle, maybe after the Landsmeet.

The next morning everyone awoke to breakfast already made, two mages that were talking very fast in what seemed to be a mixture of languages. Leliana was astounded that they knew that much Antivan, and what sounded like what the Tevinter Mages used to cast spells.

Alistair stepped out of his tent and looked at the two mages, surprised. He ran a hand through his hair and walked over to the dying fire. He talked quietly with Jace for a moment, and Jace's face clouded over before he nodded. Leliana stealthily walked behind the mage and wrapped her arms around his waist. "What was that about?"

"Arl Eamon will meet us at the Landsmeet." Jace replied. "Teryn Loghain is ready, and we have to be ready too."

Leliana felt the dread in those words, and immediately, her mood was dampened. "Jace, I'm sorry."

"I know, but we need to do this, for Duncan."

Leliana nodded, even though she hadn't met the Grey Warden, she knew he had been a great man. Alistair walked over again, eating. "We have to go back."

"Back where?" Jace asked, confused.

"Ostagar, we have a lead."

Jace nodded. He looked at a Redcliffe mercenary. "You, go tell Bann Teagan that we'll be back in around a month!"

"Yes sir!" The man ran off toward the castle.

Alistair nodded, finishing off his breakfast. "We need to go to Bann Loren's lands. There's a rumour that one of the king's guards managed to escape and he's being held there."

Jace couldn't help feeling bad for the dead man lying in front of him, the man had felt terribly for deserting his post, but it was a good thing he hadn't kept the key on him. _It looks like luck is finally on our side._ He mused.

Jowan shifted his weight uncomfortably. "Are you really sure you want me to come to Ostagar with you?" He asked quietly while Leliana looted the guards.

"You need to learn some more spells before the Landsmeet." Jace replied. "We'll have Alistair, Leliana and Sev with us anyhow, you'll be fine."

Jowan nodded, and soon their journey into the Kocari Wilds began.

Jace shivered in the cold, snow almost reaching the top of his thick boots. He wrapped his cloak more tightly around him, and gazed sadly at the ruins surrounding him. Ostagar was a complete ruin, seeing as it had been abandoned more than a year earlier. Jace felt slightly sick where the fire that Duncan had stood beside was long cold, the ashes scattered around. Alistair looked white, but seemed to be fairing better than Jace felt.

A group of darkspawn suddenly approached, and Jace felt enraged at the sight of a piece of Cailan's armour being use by the darkspawn. They killed them easily and soon found the statue that the king's key was buried beside. After killing a group of rabid mabaris, we entered the ruins of the King's tent, which no longer gave any shelter.

We opened the chest and found King Maric's sword and documents from the Empress of Orlais. Leliana scanned them, and shook her head sadly. "She was waiting for a response, she would have sent help."

Jace shook his head and shuddered when a blast of cold air blew around them. "We'll never get the help we need." He murmured, teeth chattering.

Leliana looked at him, and noticed that he had dark circles under his eyes and seemed paler than usual. She didn't want to bring anything to everyone's attention. Ostagar was taking a lot out of the Grey Warden, but he didn't want to say anything.

Leliana thought about their options for a moment before realizing they couldn't go back to camp, it was too risky and if they left they probably wouldn't come back to Ostagar.

Soon they had killed all the darkspawn that had held all of Cailan's armour. As they entered the old battlefield, the darkspawn necromancer raised on ogre with a sword and dagger impaled in it's chest. Jace easily killed the necromancer and joined everyone else in killing the raised corpses and ogre.

Looking at the blades stuck in the ogre, Jace recognized them as Duncan's sword and dagger. Stepping forward, Jace pulled them free. Solemnly he handed Duncan's sword to Alistair, and shoved the dagger into his sheath, giving one of his own to Jowan. He looked determined, but they took their time getting back to the bridge where the corpse of King Cailan waited.

The sombre mood of the funeral followed the group to Denerim where they met Arl Eamon at his estate. Were the handmaiden of Anora, King Cailan's wife, met us and started to rush into a story about how Anora had been captured.

Jace was reluctant to help, but agreed. He took Sev, Oghren, Leliana and Jowan. After finding the Queen, they learned that the door was locked magically by a powerful wizard that Arl Howe was in league with. They had to make their way to the basement of the estate and kill the wizard. What Jace hadn't been expecting was the Arl was there too, so after killing all the guards, the wizard and Howe, they went to save the Queen.

They broke her out and dressed her in the guards' armour. When trying to get out, they ran into Ser Cauthrien. "Let me explain!" Jace said, sliding to a halt.

"You came to kill Howe!" She exclaimed. "And to kill the Queen!"

Jace gaped. "What- We came here to save the Queen, Howe was in the way!"-

Anora stepped forward. "This man tried to kidnap me!" he said harshly, glaring at Jace.

Jace snapped his mouth shut. "You traitorous bitch! I should have known!"

"Will you fight me, Warden, or go peacefully?" Cauthrien demanded.

Jace thought for a moment, and saw no way out. He sighed and drew his dagger, and placed it on the floor before kicking it over to Cauthrien. She picked it up and sheathed it. "Good choice, Warden. Come with me."

Jace followed, and jumped when rough hands grabbed him by the arms and started to drag him to the exit. Jace saw Oghren start to move forward. "No!" He commanded. "No! If something happens to me Alistair will have to lead! You must let him know!"

Alistair nodded and stepped back. The last hing that Jace remembered before being hit on the head was Leliana and Jowan looking horrified and Alistair looking determined with Anora watching him with a cool look on her face.

Jace awoke with a terrible headache and a horrible chill. He felt the cold stone of the floor and shuddered, briefly wondering where he was. Then it hit him like Sten using a battering ram on a door.

He groaned before sitting up and taking in his surroundings. Cells surrounded his own and a prisoner in the next cell was staring at him. "What'd you do?"

"Killed Arl Howe." Jace replied simply.

The man's eyes widened. "Really?"

Jace ignored the man and started to look around. He then started looking around for something sharp. |Do you have anything sharp?"

"Um, not really, unless you count this rock." He held a sightly sharp rock up to show the Warden. "What are you planning, do you think someone will save you?"

"Maybe, but I can't rely on them solely. Give me that rock." Jace held out a slim hand. The rock was barely sharp, but would serve well for it's intended purpose.

Jace slid down against the bars farthest away from the other prisoner. He started to cough, and gasp rather loudly. "Guard!" He called weakly. "Guard!"

The guard that came was clearly knew, he was young and looked sightly nervous. "What do you want?" He demanded.

"Water!" Jace gasped.

The guard looked guilty. "I can't"-

"Please. If not, I need medical attention, if I die before the Teryn gets his answers, he'll be most upset."

The guard nodded and opened the door. When Jace felt the magic field keeping him from doing magic dissipate, he rubbed viciously at his leg, when blood appeared he looked at the guard straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry."

The guard didn't have time to blink before he slumped to the ground, dead. Jace severed his connection from the dead man, and healed his cut. He pulled the guard in and donned his armour and his dagger and longsword. He also found the key to the cells. He reopened the cell and opened the cell door next to him. "Go."

"Thank you."- The prisoner started to leave. Jace grabbed him and pressed the key into his hand.

"You didn't see me use blood magic, in fact, if you _ever_ tell anyone about me, I'll find you." Jace threatened. The man licked his lips and nodded. "Try getting some of the healthier prisoners, they might be able to help."

Jace left, and found a chest that was unlocked. He found all of his things and took them back, happy he he still had his Warden's Oath and Reflection. He put them both on, and was very happy he left the bulk of his things at Arl Eamon's estate.

Jace had to cut his way through Fort Drakon, unable to see another way. Finally making his way to the front exit, barely alive. Morrigan, Alistair and Leliana were already there killing the guards. Jace swayed from blood loss. He swallowed dryly and fell against the stone wall. He cursed himself when he noticed that his consciousness was slipping away from him.

Leliana sat on the edge of the bed, beside Jace, washing his fevered face with a cool cloth. One of his wounds had become infected, and with him as weak as he was, neither Morrigan or Wynne wished to try to heal him. Leliana hoped that he would awaken soon, the nobles were getting impatient.

Over several days, the rest of them had been working on trying to see what else they could dig up on Loghain. Leliana was horrified that he had been selling slaves to the Tevinter. She felt that Jace needed to know.

As she was thinking, she didn't see Jace's eyes flutter open. He licked his dry lips. "Lel?" He asked, his voice weak and raspy.

"Do you want some water?" Jace nodded, and sat up, leaning against his pillows and headboard.

Jace held his mug of water in both hands, trying to keep it steady. He sipped it for a moment before looking at Leliana questioningly. "What happened, you're upset."

"Loghain is selling elves to Tevinter."

Jace choked, water coming out of his nose. "What?" He set the mug down and swung his feet to the side of the bed, anger fuelling his actions.

"Jace, you've been sick for for days, we were able to save many of the elves. You're never going to bring Loghain to justice if you're too ill to go to the Landsmeet." she rested her hand on his shoulder, he looked at her for a moment, thinking.

He nodded. "I need to get up, my legs are asleep."

Leliana nodded. She helped him stand on shaky legs and and as he limped toward the door towards the kitchen. Leliana smiled. _Let Jace be the one to think of his stomach at a time like this._ Alistair was there, eating something that looked like soup. He had a large piece of bread in one hand and a spoon in the other.

Jace smirked and sat down beside the other Grey Warden. "How's the soup?"

Alistair looked up, "You're awake."

"Yeah, where did you get the soup?"

Alistair motioned to a large pot that was steaming over a dying fire. A large loaf of bread was on the table. Leliana grabbed two bowls and two spoons while Jace cut the bread. They ate in a slightly awkward silence. "Has Leliana told you what Loghain has done?" Alistair asked.

Jace nodded, feeling suddenly very angry again. He took a deep breath and shoved the emotion away. "How did you find out?"

"Anora." Alistair replied. "She didn't know that Ser Cauthrien was going to come, she alerted Eamon and I as soon as they came back." He looked a little closer at the younger Warden, "Are you okay, you were pretty sick."

"I'll be fine. What did you do to stop the slavers?"

Leliana blushed. "Um, I snuck us in."

Jace smiled a little. "Good. Did you kill them?"

"Yes, we freed the elves and killed the slavers."

Jace nodded. "Thank you for taking charge."

Leliana blushed. "Alistair helped too."

"Good, if something happens to me, I know that everything will be taken care of."

Alistair nodded. "Thank you."

Jace smiled and continued eating. Alistair finished and left. "What about Riordan?" Jace asked, referring to the Grey Warden that they had found when they were hunting the wizard that locked Queen Anora up.

"He's agreed to help us defeat the archdemon." Leliana replied softly.

Jace nodded. "I take it Wynne healed him?"

"Yes, I believe she's in the library. She could see about healing you now."

"Alright, after we're done eating we'll go find her. My legs feel almost normal now."

Leliana smiled. _I can live with that. _She thought, but didn't want to ruin the lovely silence that she knew he cherished as much as she herself did.

AN: I got it! Almost done, Landsmeet and final battle left and the epilogue of course. I'm thinking of making a sequel after this story. It'll be Jace meeting my DA 2 character Cade. What do you guys think? When should it start, before the Arishock battle, or after?


	6. Chapter 6

Jace felt light-headed, sweaty and suddenly a little nauseous. He felt his stomach churn and bile rise up his throat. He took a few calming breaths, hoping to settle his stomach.

Anora had agreed to rule jointly with Alistair, as long as she made most, if not all, major decisions. Alistair agreed, knowing that if all else failed, he could go to his friends for guidance. Jace had barely gotten any sleep and he knew he looked as bad as he felt, from the way that Jowan had given him a strong energy potion. Ser Cauthrien had tried to stop them, but Jace had persuaded her to reveal that she knew Loghain wasn't the man he once was.

Leliana, Alistair and Jace braced himself and walked in. "Teryn Loghain would have us give up our freedom and our traditions out of fear!" Eamon announced loudly to the nobles gathered at the landsmeet. "Should we place _our_ destiny in his hands? Should we sacrifice everything that is good about this country just to save it?"

People clapped and cheered. A cold, hard voice echoed through the hall. "A fine _performance, _Eamon. No one here is fooled by it!" Teryn Loghain stepped through the crowd. "You would put a mere puppet on the throne?" Loghain's eyes glittered with malice. "What everyone here wants to know, is who will pull the strings?"

Loghain's eyes fell on Jace. "Here we have the puppeteer!"

Jace glared, standing rigid to his full height. "Tell us, Warden! How will the Orlesians take our land this time?" Loghain demanded.

"Orlais is not the real threat here!" Jace narrowed his eyes. "Surely you have all seen the Blight's work on the land, the Blight is the enemy, not Orlais!"

"Really, Warden? How would you know? You're barely out of the circle"-

Jowan stood beside Jace. "He's far more capable than you are!"

Loghain's eyes narrowed n recognition, but smirked. "Why, Warden isn't this the mage that poisoned Arl Eamon?"

"You hired him, you should know, Jowan didn't know what he was doing, he thought he was helping his people." Leliana interjected.

Loghain looked curiously at Leliana. "An Orlesian? See?" He turned to face the other nobles. "The invasion has already begun!"

"You knew who Arl Howe was holding, didn't you? You knew they had done nothing wrong." Jace argued. Some of the nobles looked convinced, but many didn't know what to think.

"You kidnapped my daughter! As far as I know, she is dead!" Loghian snapped. "Tell me Warden, have you killed her yet?"

"I did not kidnap her!" Jace proclaimed. "You had imprisoned her!"

Anora stepped out from an adjacent room. "The Warden is correct, my father is not the man he once was. He turned his back on your king and blamed it on these Wardens who had done nothing."

Mutters throughout the chamber made Jace's heart almost stop. He didn't know what to expect. A priestess from the Chantry stood, and walked forward so everyone could see her. "We need to find an honourable way to settle this."

Eamon nodded. "I know, but what could we do?"

Jace simply glared at Loghain, not wanting to make the decision. Before either the priestess or Eamon could speak again, Jace found himself suddenly on the floor, Jowan half on top of him, a pool of blood already forming around him and on Jace.

Leliana spun around to find nothing but kept her guard up. Her eyes met Alistair's, and she nodded.

"J-Jowan?" Jace asked. "Maker's blood, please... please be okay, Jowan?" He swallowed and turned him over. He almost vomited at what he saw.

Jowan had a crossbow bolt in his neck, sticking right through it. His normally lively eyes were starting to dull. His breathing came out in ragged, broken gasps. His eyes searched for a moment before settling on Jace's. He licked his lips and Jace leaned forward to hear him.

"Told... you." Jowan last breath echoed in Jace's ears and he was taken back to the conversation they had had on their way to the Landsmeet.

"_You know I'm going to die before you." Jace had said suddenly._

_Jowan watched him for a moment with his familiar, warm brown eyes. "What do you mean?"_

"_The taint making me a Grey Warden will kill me before long, I don't think I have twenty years left." Jace had replied quietly._

_Jowan shook his head. "No, I'm going to die before you."_

"_Why do you think that?" Jace asked._

"_I'm a terrible mage, blood magic is the only area I'm talented in. I don't know why you even bothered to save me."_

"_You're my friend, you know after the templar"- Jace broke off, shuddering at the memory before shoving it away. "You're the reason i survived that."_

_Jowan smiled, but didn't press the subject. When they stood outside the doors to the Landsmeet, they looked at each other before walking in._

Jace couldn't believe his friend was right, that Jowan had died before the Blight was quelled. Jace's mouth was dry and he couldn't think clearly. "Kadan." Sten's deep baritone cut through the cloud of thoughts. A large hand gripped his shoulders and stood him up. "Kadan, this is not the time."

Jace felt numb, he didn't know what to feel, or to do. He knew he was shaking, but he couldn't care. "Jace." Leliana's voice anchored his thoughts. "We will take care of him properly, I promise, but please. We need you." Jace blinked, trying to clear his vision and focus himself.

Loghain was smirking at him, and Jace realized he was crying. He rubbed at the already drying tears with the sleeve of his robes, staring blankly at Leliana. He licked his dry lips and looked around. "Who did it?" He demanded. The silence was deafening and his request rang throughout the room. "Tell me now, who did it!"

Nothing, only silence. Jace felt like giving up, going back to the Circle, help rebuild. He knew that wasn't an option. He took another deep breath and started to scan the room, but the only one who didn't looked shocked was Loghain. Jace felt his numbness turn to anger, but held himself back.

He looked at Eamon. "What do you think is an honourable way to settle this?"

"A duel would be traditional, however I'm not sure"-

"That will do, Eamon." Loghain sneered. "We are grown men, we can decide for ourselves."

The priestess nodded. "Choose your champion, Warden. Choose wisely."

No matter how much Jace wanted to kill Loghain, he knew he wouldn't be able to, especially not after his illness. He sighed. "Alistair." He murmured, voice cracking. "I choose Alistair."

Alistair looked stunned, but nodded. He stepped forward and the duel began. Jace held his breath, hoping that he would win. Surprisingly, Alistair won. Just as he began to make the move for the killing blow, Riordan stepped out from the crowd. "Hold." He said. "This man may still be of use."

"What?" Jace and Alistair demanded.

"We could make him a Grey Warden." Riordan explained.

Jace shook his head. "No."

Alistair went to make the killing blow. "I will not marry you if you kill my father!" Anora announced.

Jace rolled his eyes. "I'll do it." He pulled out his dagger, knelt beside Loghain. "This is what you get, you bastard." He murmured in the older man's ear before plunging his dagger into Loghain's body. Loghain slumped to the ground.

Jace wiped his blade clean. "You're both going to get married, rule together and now we have to kill the archdemon."

"Warden, we should travel to Redcliffe so we can devise a plan." Eamon spoke up.

Jace nodded. "Then that is what we will do."

Jowan's death hit hard when they made camp for the night. Jace was putting up the tent he shared sometimes with Leliana, when he realized they had an extra tent. A lump that formed in his throat made it difficult to breathe, and his heart raced wildly.

"I'm sorry." Alistair's voice penetrated Jace's thoughts.

Unexplainable anger coursed through Jace. "Why do you care?" He demanded. "You were going to kill me only a month ago! Did you suddenly change your mind about blood mages?" He drew himself to his full height, seeming to stare down at the templar, instead of Alistair staring down at him.

Alistair's expression changed, his normally open features hardened. "I _thought_ that some blood mages were different, apparently not. Blood magic ruins all it touches!" He snapped before stomping away.

Jace silently watched him leave, but didn't see Wynne in the bushes. "You're right." he said quietly.

Wynne's heart broke. She was starting to see the younger mage as a good friend, and he had been hurt by one of his friends, and one of his friends had been killed, all in one day. She didn't want to try to comfort him, he was still too emotional and the wounds were still raw. She turned away and headed back the way she came, hoping that she had gathered enough herbs.

Leliana watched the confrontation in stunned silence, when Alistair left, she helped Jace put up the tent and she led him inside. They laid down their bedrolls and she forced him to lay down with her, his shivering body pressed against her warm one. "I love you." He murmured.

Leliana smiled. "I love you too." She looked at him. "Your eyes have changed."

"Have they?" Jace asked. "Must be the lyrium."

"What do you mean?"

"Large doses of lyrium changes eye colour, I don't remember why. I think Duncan told me."

"Oh. They're lovely. They were nice looking when they were dark, but now they look exotic." Jace smiled, and snuggled closer to Leliana. She kissed him. "I love you." She repeated.

Jace smiled, "I know, you've said."

Leliana laughed, they snuggled closer and soon fell asleep.

LINE BREAK

Jace woke, cold and still exhausted. Leliana wasn't anywhere to be seen, though her bedroll was still faintly warm. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He stumbled out of his tent, and squinted in the bright sun.

He cast a quick glance around. He still felt Jowan's death strongly, but it felt muted, far away. He focused on himself and felt nothing but emptiness. He felt off, but didn't feel good or bad. He shrugged it off. _Perhaps I've found that 'inner peace' Jonathon was always talking about._ Jace thought. He looked around. Leliana was making breakfast, with Sev standing near her, tail wagging. Alistair looked like he was brooding, rubbing his worry token in his hand. He looked up at Jace and his expression darkened even more. Jace stared back, unsure if he should feel anything, and if so, what he should feel. He inhaled and the slight, almost unnoticeable ache in his chest left, but came back when he exhaled. He didn't dwell on it, though.

Wynne watched, terribly worried for the Warden. He'd been through so much, the Circle, Orzammar, Ostagar, Jowan's death and now Alistair's idiocy. Wynne was worried that Jace was finally beginning to suffer negative consequences. His eyes were calm, eerily so. When he looked at Alistair, his eyes had glazed a little, not enough to make Wynne take action. She looked aver at Leliana, who looked as worried as Wynne felt. Their gazes met, and Leliana nodded a little. Wynne nodded back; Leliana was probably the only one who would be able to help the Warden, but Wynne would talk to him.

Wynne hadn't known Jowan very well, but she had talked to him a few times since Bann Teagan had let him go, mostly after she had calmed down. He had seemed kind enough, and he was quiet, something Wynne knew Jace liked. Jowan hadn't been extremely loud and seemed willing to learn whatever Jace was trying to teach him. Jowan hadn't been the most skilled mage, but what spells he had learned, he learned them well. She felt bad for the young man, he had made mistakes and ultimately paid for them with something no one his age should.

Jace sat down close to the fire, still not sure if he should feel anything. Leliana handed him a bowl of oatmeal. "Here, love."

He accepted it with a nod. "Thank you." She smiled at him, and Jace's heart fluttered.

Soon they set off and was extremely surprised when a villager was waiting by the bridge. He was panting and looked terrified.

"What happened?" Jace demanded.

"Darkspawn, they came out of nowhere!" The villager replied.

"Go somewhere safe," Jace ordered. "Lets go!"

They made it down before they hit a large group of darkspawn. Jace fought with a combination of magic and his daggers. He started laughing hysterically when he killed lesser darkspawn with one hit, or with a simple arcane bolt. Standing back for a moment, trying to muffle his laughter he surveyed the damage. The Chantry seemed to be barricaded from the inside, as did many houses. Some homes were smouldering or on fire, but structural damage was minimal. An ogre rounded a corner, and Jace ducked back into battle again. Leliana ran toward the ogre. Jace concentrated and sliced a rune into his arm. Leliana's daggers shone bright red just before she plunged them into the ogres knee. The ogre bellowed and fell to one leg. Jace Shot a stone fist straight between the eyes and the ogre fell, dead.

Soon, they had cleared the village and fought their way castle. Jace was tired and drenched in blood, both his own and that of darkspawn. He had discarded much of his outer robes, wearing nothing but breeches and a chain shirt with leather gloves without fingers to allow smoother spell casting. Jace ran into the main hall of the castle, not entirely sure what to expect.

He cast a quick glance around and found everything to be normal, except for some villagers cowering near the fireplace.

Arl Eamon sheathed his sword and strode toward the tired friends. "Thank you, Warden, your arrival is most fortunate"- Eamon seemed to take in the Grey Warden's appearance. "Are you alright? Do you and your companions need a basin of water to get the darkspawn filth off of you?"

"If it's not too much trouble." Jace replied. He sheathed his daggers and sat on a stone step in front of the fire place. Servants dragged a large basin in and filled it with steaming water. Leliana and Jace waited for everyone to wash first, using clean cloths. When they were done the servants came back and switched the water. Jace dunked his head into the basin and came back up, smoothing his hair back. He started to wash off his arms and grimaced as his fresh cuts stung.

"What is that?" Eamon asked suddenly.

Jace half turned, "Huh?"

Eamon gestured to the rune on Jace's arm, "That."

Jace's moth went dry. He tried to find a lie that would explain it, but he took a moment too long. The normally composed Arl lost his temper. "Are you telling me I let a blood mage into my home with open arms after one almost destroyed my family?"

Jace's jaw clenched, "Not all mages are all the same"-

"YOU ARE A BLOOD MAGE!" Arl Eamon shouted. "IT IS YOUR KIND THAT TURNS THE MAKER'S GAZE AWAY!" Jace looked at the floor and clenched his teeth, jaw muscles twitching. "YOUR KIND TURNED THE WHITE CITY BLACK AND YOUR KIND USES THE _LIFEFORCE _OF OTHERS TO FEED THIER POWER!" Eamon panted for breath, as if he had just ran down the hill and back.

Jace licked his lips. "I have never done anything more sinister than kill darkspawn and protect the woman I love, if that is so terrible I clearly don't know who I am anymore." Eamon looked about ready to shout some more but Jace interrupted him, " Would you not let someone not have a sword because they might hurt someone?"

"No, but"-

Jace's eyes flashed, "Then don't tell me how to use my Maker given powers or what school of magic to use, I would not take a man's last means of defence and neither should you."

Eamon was speechless, but still looked horribly angry. Riordan looked thoughtful. "The Warden's do not forbid blood magic."

Jace nodded, "Duncan told me such on our way to Ostagar."

"You were a blood mage then?" Alistair demanded.

"No, I wasn't. I wanted to know my options." Jace replied coolly. He threw the cloth into the basin, "I think I'll go have a wash in the river." He glanced at Sev, "c'mon, boy lets go."

The dog followed his master as the slim Warden stormed out of the hall. Leliana sighed and dropped her cloth into the basin as well before running after her lover. Everyone in the hall dispersed to other parts of the castle, no one noticed that Zevran followed the Warden, Mabari and Orleasian.

Zevran found them after only a few moments of searching the rivers' shore. He had become a lot closer to the elven mage than he had ever expected too. They had a deep bond of friendship that had started after the Gauntlet. Zevran didn't have the same feelings that Leliana did for the Warden, and knew that Jace didn't either.

"Warden?" He asked several paces away from the pair. Jace looked up, eyes red.

"What?" Jace's voice was rougher than normal.

Zevran walked forward and sat on the bank next to the elf and human, "He had no right to embarrass you in front of a village of people you saved."

Jace sighed, "Yes he did. He's right, Alistair's right, hell- even the Chantry is right. Blood magic twists the user."

"If that was true, than why are you worrying about it, my dear Warden?" Zevran asked.

"He's right," Leliana said softly, "If you were bad, you wouldn't be worrying about it at all."

Jace laughed bitterly, "Stop using my own words on this, you don't know"-

"I once knew a blood mage," Zevran interrupted, "She had been one for years. She was the sweetest person I had ever met that was a member of the Crows."

"Really? Than why?"-

"You didn't let me finish," Zevran playfully scolded the Warden, "She lost control after taking too much lyrium, and became an abomination, because, unlike you, she never got rid of her demon."

"But"-

"Jace, you have absolutely nothing to fear.. Death happens, but not to you."

Jace snorted. "Thanks."

Zevran smiled crookedly at the Warden, "I told you I'd save your back."

"Than I owe you one."

"I certainly hope not," Zevran joked. "Death may not happen to you, but it _happens_ to the enemies you've pissed off."

Jace snorted again, and stood, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, "Thank you, both of you."

Leliana smiled, "Zevran and you share a bond that is different from ours. If he didn't help, I'd be upset."

Zevran smiled crookedly at both of them, "I'll be in the library if you need me."

Jace nodded, "Thank you."

Zevran smiled crookedly, "You would do the same for me."

"I know." Jace nodded and started toward the castle.

Leliana smiled at Zevran, "Thank you. I think he'll be okay."

"I think so too"

LINE BREAK LINE BREAK

Jace snuck into his room, and sighed in relief. He turned around and almost jumped out of his skin, "Maker's blood, Riordan!"

"I apologize, Warden." Riordan smiled crookedly, "I have already talked to Alistair, but I still need to talk to you."

Jace nodded, a feeling of dread starting to build in his chest, "Alright."

"Do you know why it takes a Grey Warden to end a Blight?"

"I assume that it's something to do with the taint." Jace guessed.

"That is true, Warden. When a normal person lands the killing blow to an archdemon, the archdemon's soul is absorbed, and the person that they were is gone."

"That creates a new archdemon?"

"Correct. Because of our taint, the archdemon is destroyed, but"-

"so is the Warden." Jace sank onto the edge of his bed, "Why didn't tell us?"

"He couldn't have foreseen what was going to happen. He assumed he, or one of the others would kill the archdemon," Riordan sighed, "I have told Alistair I will make that sacrifice, and I will tell you the same. I suggest you get some rest, Warden. We will need it."

Riordan left, and Jace was in complete shock. He took off his boots and lay down, feeling even more tired and downtrodden than he had felt moments before.

LINE BREAK LINE BREAK

Jace awoke with a start, biting back a yell. He had dreamed of Johnathon again. He cast a glance around his room and found Morrigan sitting in a chair, watching him. Jace thought the worst, what if Morrigan was an abomination?

"Warden. I have a proposal." She stated clearly, "I know why Grey Warden's are needed to end the Blight."

"Did everybody know but me and Alistair?" Jace asked to no one in particular.

Morrigan smirked, "Apparently."

"What is your proposal?" Jace asked.

"I know of a ritual preformed on the eve of battle that will spare you life and Alistair's. I want you to lay with me here, tonight. A child will be conceived, and with the taint of your blood, it will ensure that the child will not die when trying to absorb the essence of an Old God."

Jace's jaw went slack, "This was your plan all along."

"Yes," Morrigan continued, "I will raise the child as my own, and I do not want to be followed or tracked. Do you agree to these conditions?"

"Only if you name the baby something elven." Jace said after a moment.

Morrigan's eyes flashed, "Fine."

Jace closed his eyes and led Morrigan to the bed.

LINE BREAK LINE BREAK

Morrigan left right afterwords, which was fine for Jace. He grabbed his things and with an incredible feeling of guilt, made his way to Zevran's room. He stood there for a moment before going one room over to Leliana's room. He opened the door to find her pulling her hair back into a ponytail, and getting ready for bed.

"Why are you still awake?" Jace asked.

Leliana giggled, "I could ask you the same question."

"Couldn't sleep," Jace rubbed his forehead, sat his things down, and lay down in the bed, waiting for Leliana to join him. He wrapped his arms around her, "I love you, no matter what happens tomorrow. If I die, I'll wait for you."

"You won't die, Zevran won't let you."

"I know, but I had to let you know."

"Who are you taking?" Leliana asked, fear building in her chest.

"Zevran, Oghren, Wynne and Sev." Jace swallowed, "I'm sorry, I don't want you to watch me die."

Leliana kissed him, totally taking him by surprise. They had shared embraces, and a general closeness, but this kiss seemed different from the others. Jace pulled back, gasping for air. One look into her eyes and he knew what she wanted. Guilt flared in his chest, but he shoved it back down. _I did it for her. _He thought before kissing her back.

As he finally fell asleep, an hour or so later, he dimly hoped that no one had heard them.


	7. Chapter 7

Jace awoke with one arm draped over Leliana and her head nestled in his neck. He smiled and his heart lifted, only to be crushed by the looming weight of the final battle. He sighed and really wished that Jowan was there to talk to. Then, he remembered Zevran. Then he remembered Morrigan and Arl Eamon.

Jace slowly wiggled free of Leliana, hoping not to wake her. He planted a kiss on her forehead and scribbled a note and left it on his pillow. He slipped out of the room, holding his boots. He spun around and was blocked by Alistair's muscled chest. He looked up to find Alistair glaring at him.

"Yes?" Jace asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"You're not taking advantage of her are you?" Alistair growled.

The edge of Jace's vision went red, "You're kidding," Jace slipped out of the large man's way.

"No, I'm not. If you hurt her, I swear I'll-"

"Don't. Just don't try it. I have done everything in my power to help people, to keep people safe. If me resorting to something drastic is too hard, then leave. You can go fall on something sharp and pointy for all I care. Bring this up with Leliana, and I will skin you alive if she doesn't get to you first." Jace spun on his heel and turned toward the library.

Jace managed to pull on his boots on his way. He wasn't surprised to see Zevran up already, sharpening his daggers. Zevran looked up and smirked suggestively. Jace sighed, "Is there anyone who doesn't know?"

Zevran laughed, "The Arl, perhaps. Although you two were relatively quiet."

"Then how does everyone know!" Jace exclaimed.

Zevran laughed, "I can tell, dear Warden, because I know your body language. You are far more relaxed then I have seen you in a while," Jace raised an eyebrow, "and I heard you." Zevran finished after a moment.

Jace nodded, "I thought so," He rested his head in the palms of his hands, "We haven't even started yet and I think I'm going to throw up."

Zevran laughed, and slapped Jace on the back, "You're just hungry. We should go eat now, before we have to go prepare for battle, my Warden."

Jace nodded, "Alright."

(LINE BREAK)

Jace was worried, they had to make a forced march to Denerim. They only had had a few hours to prepare and the morale showed that. Jace shook his head. He knew who he wanted with him when he went to defeat the archdemon. Jace was surprisingly energetic, but stayed as far away from Alistair as humanely possible.

Leliana knew not to ask what had happened between the templar and mage, but stayed with her lover the whole walk if he wanted to talk.

Jace's face lost all colour when he caught sight of the burning Denerim. He carried as many healing and lyrium potions on him as he could, as did Wynne. Jace as thinking of who he would bring with him; Wynne would be coming, as was Zevran. Jace knew he needed a heavy hitter, Sten was a good choice, but was more of a target. Oghren was the only one that fit the description.

Jace sighed, "You're not coming with me."

"What?" Leliana exclaimed.

"You're not coming with me to kill the archdemon, if something happened to you I would die soon after," Jace slipped her hand in his, "I want you to stay and guard the gates with Sten and the others."

"Who are you taking with you?" Leliana asked.

"Zevran, Wynne, Oghren and Sev."

"Why Zevran?" Leliana asked, "Why not Alistair?"

Jace smiled, "This may seem a little off kilter for me, but if I die, I want him to feel guilty for not offering, or apologizing. Oghren will be less of a target than Sten. Wynne is an exceptional healer and has become a good battlemage, Sev is coming for his strength and nose, and Zevran is coming for the simple task of keeping me alive for you."

Leliana snorted, "He had better."

Jace smiled. After a moment, he pulled off Reflection, the amulet the false Jowan had given him in the Gauntlet. He stared at it for a moment, letting the familiar sense of warmth and comfort flow over him. He gently slid the large chain over Leliana's neck.

Leliana touched it, the metal was cool to the touch. She knew exactly what the amulet meant to her lover, and was immensely touched that he had given it to her, "Thank you," she murmured.

"Keep it safe for me, " Jace smiled, and pulled another amulet out of his pack. After a moment of staring at it, he lifted it so she could see.

It was made of limestone, and was clearly not made by a professional. The amulet looked heavy, but when she touched it, it was light as air, "What is it?"

"I made it myself, at night when I couldn't sleep," Jace smiled, "I got bored, and started playing around with blood magic. I enchanted it... I hope you don't mind I used blood magic."

"What did you enchant it to do?" Leliana asked.

"To protect. It protects against some fire damage and ice damage. I-I want you to have it." Jace looked at the ground, "I tried to find a ring, but-"

Leliana flung her arms around Jace, "This is better than any ring, my love!" Jace blushed and smiled. He returned the hug. Leliana sniffed, and Jace pulled back. Leliana was crying, a huge smile making her features glow with an inner light.

"Will you marry me when all this is done? I can get a ring after, Maker knows we have enough gold."

Leliana let out a girlish squeal, and wrapped her arms around him again, "I love you!" She kissed him and he kissed back.

"I love you too," Jace murmured into her neck. She smelled like flowers, then remembered he had given her Andraste's Grace whenever he could, "You smell like Andraste's Grace."

Leliana pulled away a little, "Do you like it? I can try something else-"

"It's perfect, but we really should get going," Jace pulled away sadly, and slipped his handmade amulet over her neck.

Leliana dug around in one of her pockets and found what she was looking for. She pulled out a ring. It was made of what looked like ironwood and was etched with runes. She carefully slipped it over his finger, "This will help you regenerate your mana," She smiled, and laughed at the group of soldiers gawking at them.

Jace smirked, and raised an eyebrow at them. The soldiers rushed off to their positions, and Jace leaned in for another kiss, "Good luck, love." Leliana whispered.

Jace smiled again, and pulled away. He jogged off into the crowd to make his way to the front line.

Leliana let a ghost of a smile light her features before looking down at the amulets. She gently caressed each one and started toward her position with everyone else that wasn't going to kill the archdemon.

Jace didn't care about the speech Alistair was saying, all he could focus on was the immense dark presence of darkspawn up ahead. His neck itched, and Jace wanted to go and kill them all, one by one. His senses had not been this overwhelmed since Orzammar, and it felt odd.

He waited for the horn to blow, then charged into the city when it did. The battle that raged around him soon became a blur, he killed darkspawn and so did everyone else. After what seemed to be an eternity, the fighting stopped.

Jace looked around, the ground was stained red, and in some spots, was slippery. Dead darkspawn littered the ground, as well as some of their own soldiers. Jace spotted Riordan, and walked over.

"We're ready to go," Jace swallowed, "i know who I want to bring. Do we have a plan of attack?"

Riordan nodded, "We do. I will kill the dragon if I can. While I keep it preoccupied, there is something I need you to do."

Jace raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"There will be generals that need to be killed, if they are not, the dragon will surely call on them."

"Kill the generals. Where are we luring the dragon?"

"To the top of Fort Drakon. There will be ballistas there, and if need be, we can surround the building for people to attack from the ground."

Jace nodded, "Sounds good to me. I-I should go say goodbye to everyone before I go."

"Call those that are coming to you first," Riordan advised, "No point in saying goodbye to someone who is not coming."

Jace nodded, and swallowed down the lump that had built in his throat. He called forth the companions that he had travelled with for over a year. Ohgren, Zevran, Wynne, and Sev walked forward.

Morrigan stepped over first, looking angry, "After everything I am not going with you? This is madness!"

Jace glowered at her, "There is no point of you coming with me. You will be needed here as a healer," he paused, "Good luck with your future."

Morrigan looked slightly shocked. She soon recovered, "Good luck, Warden. I will not see you again," She walked to stand with the soldiers.

Jace swallowed more forcefully when Sten walked over, staring down at the small elf, "You're in charge, Sten. I trust you."

Sten looked down at Jace, "I was wrong."

"About what, Sten?"

"You. You are a noble fighter to defeat this Blight. I will bring your story back to my people. Perhaps they can learn from it."

Jace smiled, "Thank you, Sten. Good luck."

Sten nodded, and his large hand placed itself on Jace's shoulder, "You are worthy of the Grey Wardens," Sten went to stand beside Morrigan.

Alistair stood there in front of Jace for a long moment, "I understand what you're doing," He said, "I know that you're trying to save me-"

"Don't bullshit me, Alistair. Fereldan needs a king, and that's all I'm doing; I am protecting the king from himself. You haven't cared about what happens to me for months. For that, you can fall on something sharp and pointy for all I care. If you do, remember that you've made it harder for everyone else later," Jace ground out, "I hope you don't die, because if you do, morale will drop. Take care of yourself, because I might not be around to do it."

Alistair stormed off, fuming. Jace looked after him a little sadly. If Alistair had been paying attention, he would have thanked his fellow Warden. Jace did not care for Alistair, not anymore, but they had been friends. He sincerely hoped Alistair would think about his farewell speech and realize Jace meant well.

Wynne rested a hand on Jace's shoulder, "He'll get it eventually, Warden."

"I hope so." Jace replied. Sev barked, pulling Jace's attention to Leliana. She was dirtier than earlier, but Jace didn't care. He wrapped his arms around her and inhaled her scent; Andraste's Grace, leather and blood.

"Good luck, love," Leliana whispered in his ear.

Jace chuckled, "I love you. I'll see you soon," They pulled away, and Leliana stood next to the others that were staying.

Zevran and Ohgren waited until Jace had calmed a little before walking up, "Warden," Zevran began, "It has been a pleasure knowing you, and your nice ass," Jace glared, and Zevran hurriedly continued, "I will lay down my life for you, my friend. I know you will do the same for me, I will keep you alive so you can return to our beautiful lay Sister."

Jace smiled, "Thank you Zevran."

Oghren laughed, and Jace looked down at him, "Oghren, you don't have to say anything. I know you you'll protect me with your life."

Oghren laughed, "Yer pushin' it, elf."

Jace smiled, "I know. We should go," He turned to Riordan, "Good luck."

"Good luck to you as well, Warden." Riordan replied.

Jace walked into the city gates, and didn't look back.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

AHA! I updated three stories in the last two-three days. I honestly think it's a first for me. The next (and final) chapter will be the final battle and epilogue! Woohoo!


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note:

As this is the final chapter of this story, I decided it would be best if it was from Jace's POV. THIS CHAPTER IS IN FIRST PERSON. There, now people who just skim author's notes should have read that. I hope you like it. Dragon Age is not mine.

_..._..._..._

We slunk through the city streets, directing survivors away from the city. I could feel the generals, one was in the Market, and one in the Alienage. The Market was closest, so we made our way there.

The Market was unrecognizable; everything was burning and darkspawn were all around. I looked at my belt, _damn, which horn calls the dwarves? _I thought, inwardly cursing. _Leliana was right, I should have marked them!_

I grabbed one, and the loud call that erupted from it brought several ogres to us. Soon, Redcliffe's soldiers started attacking. We killed many, but then the General came.

He was menacing, and taller than the others. I stayed back, and cast spells at him, and other darkspawn, so the others could concentrate on him. After what felt like an eternity, it fell. Zevran smiled, and checked the darkspawn's boots while I rummaged through it's armour. We scavenged several gold pieces, some health potions, and a helmet. Oghren took the helmet, and I split the potions with Wynne.

"Are you alright?" I asked, "We don't know what the Alienage will be like."

"I'll be fine, Warden," Wynne's voice soothed my fears, "I will make it through this battle."

I nodded, "Lets go, the elves probably need our help."

We ran to the Alienage, Shianni and several of the other elves stood in front of a feeble barricade, bows at the ready. Shianni saw us first, "Oh, thank goodness!" She exclaimed, "We're saved!"

"Go! Run to safety!" Jace yelled, "We'll take car of it from here!"

The elves ran toward the Market, and hopefully toward safety. I cast a quick glance around, and saw that there were some wooden platforms on either side of the barricade, "Wynne go up there, you can see everything and war nus if anything too formidable comes our way. Take what darkspawn you can out, be careful"

Wynne left, and I stood on the stairs of the platform opposite hers. Darkspawn, and an ogre were crowding the barricade, "There's an ogre over there!" I shouted over the noise of the darkspawn trying to break the gate, "You may want to stand back!"

Oghren and Sev ran back several paces. Wynne and I looked at each other, and I nodded. I unslung the longbow I had strapped over my back and pulled back an arrow, just like Leliana had taught me.

"_Arm up, back straight. Don't worry about looking formidable, Love. We can work on that later."_

I aimed and let go of the bowstring. The arrow entered the ogre's eye socket, and it bellowed, before raising its arm in an almighty swing, taking the barricade down. I started loosing arrows at the ogre as quickly as possible, taking time to cast cold spells at it. Two genlocks crowded the stairs, and I retreated up to the platform. I cast an arcane bolt at one, and a stonefist at the other before focusing back at the ogre. Just as it fell, the General made itself known. It was as formidable as the other, but was clearly a genlock. I noticed it was surrounded by lesser darkspawn. I thought for a moment, _what can I use to kill the lesser ones and hurt the General? _I thought of it, a fireball. I had done it in the Burning Man form I had taken in the Fade at the Circe of Magi. That had been it though, I had never did it again.

I called forth flame into my hands, and let my power slowly build, and grow until I had a ball of fire in my hands the size of a ball. I hurled it into the group, and it exploded with a _bang!_ I smirked, the General stood up, and looked at me.

"Ohgren! I need your help here!" I called.

"I'm a little busy!" Ohgren yelled back, cursing.

The General started walking up the stairs, and I attacked with a cone of cold. It froze for a moment, but began it's ascent again. It was struck in the back by a stonefist from Wynne, it stumbled forward, but didn't focus it's attention elsewhere.

All of a sudden, Sev ran up the stairs, and bit the darkspawn right behind the knee. It went down, and Sev tore out it's throat before focusing on the darkspawn that were left. I shook myself out of my shock, and continued to battle the darkspawn from a distance.

Soon, they were dead. I panted for breath, and leaned against the stone wall that helped hold up the platform, "Is everyone alright?" I asked.

Ohgren was wiping off his battleaxe on a relatively clean part of the General's cloak. I looked up, spying lightning in the distance. I cursed as I felt the first few raindrops hit my face.

"It will put out the fires, at least," Zevran observed dryly, he smirked when I glared.

"Check for things we can use, gold, potions, herbs, and anything else we can find use for. When we're done, we'll head for Fort Drakon."

When we looted all we could, we started across the bridge that lead to the Fort. I heard the archdemon roar, and looked up in time to see it breathe a massive fireball at the bridge behind us. All of us dove forward, and watched as Riordan crippled the archdemon's wing. I winced as he fell, and hoped we could find his body later; Riordan deserved a hero's burial for falling off the archdemon.

We continued to watch as the dragon climbed up Fort Drakon, and settled on the top, as Riordan had predicted. The black dragon reared its ugly, spiky head and roared to the heavens. My heart dropped into my stomach, but I swallowed down two lyrium potions and we pressed on.

We cleared what seemed to be hundreds of darkspawn before hitting the palace, and then we had to kill more. As we killed more and more of the fiends with our strong allies at our backs, my hope grew. We slaughtered a contingent before finally reaching the second floor of the fort. I halted our progress for a short rest, and another lyrium potion.

"Be careful, Warden," Wynne advised, "We need you thinking clearly for the battles ahead."

I nodded, "I know, but my mana is low. We need to move."

As I walked into the room, it looked like it was a meeting room or a library, I sensed four darkspawn. I focused intently, like Duncan had told me. I found myself knowing that there were three ogres in there. I told everyone how to attack, and we soon had killed them as well.

"Ancestors,' Ohgren grunted, "Who'd think there would be this many?"

"Darkspawn in general, or ogres?" I asked.

"All of 'em."

"Well, ogres are made from Qunari broodmothers, genlocks from dwarves, hurlocks from humans and shrieks from elves," I said, remembering the book I had read in The Wonders of Thedas.

Ohgren shuddered, "That makes sense."

We climbed the stairs to the next level, where we found more darkspawn. We made our way to the stairs of the third floor, when I ran into the room and I stopped dead.

Sandal was sanding amidst a whole pile of darkspawn corpses. I couldn't see a bare spot of floor in the whole mess. Sandal looked up, and smiled. He was drenched in blood, and standing beside an ogre corpse.

"Sandal, how did you do this?" I asked, not really expecting an answer I would be happy with.

"Enchantment," Sandal rubbed his nose, and I noticed the room around us was packed full of crates where it wasn't packed with darkspawn corpses.

"Sandal, do you have any of your father's supplies?" I asked.

Sandal smiled, and showed us what he had. I bought every lyrium potion, health potion and injury kit I could find. I sold him everything we didn't need, all the weapons and armour we had picked up, mostly. As I was searching my things for other things to give him so we didn't have to carry it with us, I found Duncan's dagger and sword at the bottom of my pack, wrapped in the Grey Warden's flag.

I looked at the daggers I had been using; Thorn of the Dead Gods and the Rose's Thorn. They had served me well, and I would carry them into battle, but I would use Duncan's sword and dagger on the archdemon. I slipped the Torn of the Dead Gods and Rose's Thorn into my belt, but strapped Duncan's sword and dagger to my back.

"Keep safe, Sandal." I warned.

We ran up the stairs to the roof, and slid to a stop when we saw the archdemon up close. It was mostly black with some darker purple all around it. It was spiky and very dangerous looking. It roared, and killed several soldiers before locking on us. I spotted a ballista, and motioned for Wynne to follow. We ran over to it, and I started firing the bolts at the archdemon, Wynne keeping lesser darkspawn at bay while I focused on the archdemon. Soon, it focused its attention on us, and hopped closer to us. Wynne and I hid behind the ballista as it breathed fire at us. I dug into my pocket and grabbed the bomb Leliana had made for me. I peeked, and threw it over the ballista, and it hit the dragon in the face. It exploded, and the archdemon roared in pain. I shot several more ballista bolts at it, and I noticed it was weakening.

I pulled Duncan's sword off my back and ran toward the archdemon, slipping occaisonally in the thick blood on the stone. As the archdemon brought it's head close to the ground, I slid underneath, and stabbed deeply into it's throat. I ran down the length of its neck, blood raining down on my head as it bled out.

A large flash of light, and a loud _boom_ echoed in my brain as I was flung back. Duncan's sword was flung from my hands as I landed. A sharp pain in my head told me I had hit something, but then darkness overtook me.

_..._..._..._..._

"_Warden... Warden... Wake..." A soft, unfamiliar voice commanded, "I can help you, but you need to wake..."_

I opened my eyes, and realized I was lying in a large puddle of archdemon blood. I gasped, and accidentally swallowed some, and inhaled some. Coughing, I looked around to see if I could find the owner of the beautiful voice that had spoken to me.

"_Good, Warden... How much did you swallow?"_

"I have no way of knowing, does it matter?"

"_It helps decide how many will help you. You have just swallowed the tainted blood of an Old God. Even with the taint already living in your body, you will die. However, you are needed, and will be needed for many years. We are offering you a temporary escape from death until you are not needed."_

"Who are you?" I asked.

"_Benevolent spirits of the Fade. We will merge with you, and keep your body alive for the hard times to come."_

"If I don't take your offer, how much time do I have?" I knew these weren't demons from the Fade, it sounded completely different.

"_Less than one of your years."_

I squeezed my eyes shut, " Fine."

I felt a sudden power, and knowledge flood my body. I lifted my hand to my head, and watched it glow a soft blue. I touched the wound on my head felt it heal. I stood on shaky legs, and looked for Duncan's sword. I found it, and picked it up. I sheathed it, and looked around.

The power kept running through my veins, even better than lyrium. I spotted Zevran getting up, and Sev sitting near an unconscious Wynne. I checked Wynne for a pulse, and found one. I raised my still glowing hands, and healed her. He eyes fluttered open, and she jumped away from me.

I cocked my head to the side a little, "What's wrong Wynne?"

"You're glowing blue!" I looked down, and sure enough, little lines of blue power ran all over me and my clothing, "You're eyes are lowing too, no whites or pupils," Wynne swallowed, 'What did you do?"

"Benevolent spirits in the Fade said they'd help me. Sense my magic, Wynne, you can tell, right?"

Wynne raised her hand, and an arcane bolt shot out of her hand. I was stunned, and didn't move. It hit me, but she clearly hadn't wanted to hurt me, "What was that for?"

"If it were demons, the would have attacked. I suppose what you say is true."

I sighed in relief, "C'mon. We should go."

_..._..._..._

Anora and Alistair stood in front of their thrones, Alistair looking relatively pleased with himself, and Anora looking as impassive as ever. I looked around at everyone in their lovely, fancy clothing. Leliana wore a lovely dress with a pair of dainty shoes that she had drooled over in Redcliffe.

I looked down at my own attire. I was wearing a nice shirt with a pair of breeches on. No one except Wynne, Zevran, Leliana and Ohgren knew of my 'condition'. I knew the spirits had been right, even with their help I had already begun to feel the corruption eat at my lungs and stomach. I hadn't coughed or vomited any blood, but Wynne assured me I would within a month or so. She had given me a recipe for tea that would help numb the pain, and make the symptoms less apparent. I knew I would probably become dependant on it, but I wouldn't start using it until I had no other choice.

I talked with everyone, asking what they were going to do. Sten was going to return to his people, Wynne would help rebuild the Circle, Ohgren would visit Felsi, and Zevran, Sev, Leliana and I would travel until we were needed again.

The people of Fereldan wanted to see the man that ended the Blight, and they would see me still in my prime, before the corruption turned me into someone unrecognizable. I would brave through everything people would throw at me, and I would be there when needed.

The Blight had ended, but my beginning had just started.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Finished! All done! On est fini!

I will be making a sequel for this, the meeting between Hawke and Jace has been something I've been dreaming of since I started playing Dragon Age II. First, I'll be writing a little story about how would the companions in Dragon Age Awakening would react to Jace being what he is, an abomination, apostate, blood mage and dreadfully ill from the taint they had submitted themselves too.


End file.
